“When did your love for Spanish start?” – I get this question a lot.
The ember that sparked it all started in 3rd grade. My teacher, Mrs. Kyle, wasn’t a native speaker but she introduced our class to a language program called Muzzy (a big green monster who eats clocks) a few days a week. I remember thinking it was SO COOL that I could talk in “code” with colors, numbers, and a few vocab words that my family wouldn’t be able to understand. I found another language fascinating.
That year for Christmas, I asked for a Spanish book, and I got one! It came with a cassette (yes, I’m that old) and it was my favorite gift to “play” with. At the breakfast table the morning after Christmas I proudly stated, “Soy un oso.” My mother looked up from her breakfast and asked what it meant. I replied triumphantly, “I am a bear”.
The book was about a bear family speaking Spanish. I read that book and practiced with the cassette so much, I had it memorized in a couple weeks.
I couldn’t wait to keep learning. But my journey with Spanish was not a straight road.
My favorite “toy” that Christmas (age 8)
When I entered high school, I couldn’t wait to take the Spanish courses offered. However, I was sorely disappointed. My teacher was boring, and the content was awful. It was what I would describe today as tourist Spanish. And it was “Spain Spanish” to boot. My fire died out.
Fast forward three years later and my family farm hired the first Spanish speaker to the milking team. His name was Octavio, and we milked the 3rd shift together my senior year of high school. He taught me more Spanish, including farm specific terms. He also taught me about his culture, something I had wished for in my high school classes.
Talking with Octavio made the hours in the milking parlor fly by. I started speaking more Spanish and would have him explain certain words on the whiteboard in the break room. My passion for learning Spanish reignited.
Life took a lot of unexpected and sometimes disappointing turns for me after high school.
Octavio and I in the rotary milking parlor at my family farm
Life takes you in different directions, some of which are not of your choosing, and that’s exactly what happened to me.
After high school, I took a gap year to work on the farm. Then I attended a two-year business school, securing an internship and later a full-time job on a large southern PA dairy farm. I returned to my family farm, got married, started my own farm, and moved cattle twice across state lines before deciding to officially get a degree in the Spanish language.
The fire for the Spanish language was still there albeit dim. Even after years away from it, I still had a yearning to be better at it. And I wanted to help others be better at it too. I enrolled part-time and attended class in between milkings, payroll, and chores. Looking back, I’m not sure how I did it. It wasn’t perfect but I graduated Summa Cum Laude which was a shock to my family as I wasn’t a fan of school in the past.
Because I couldn’t get a degree in solely the language, my degree is in Secondary Education, Spanish and I am certified to teach K-12. I also added an English as a Second Language certification as I had a hunch it would serve me and others well in the future.
Turns out I was right.
The Spanish language has opened many doors for me and allowed me to meet some incredible people and visit amazing places. I’ve been able to travel the world thanks to my pursuit of Spanish learning. In fact, during my time in college, I was fortunate to be able to travel to Panama to study abroad and immerse myself in the language. I even visited a dairy farm there! And I am still in touch with my host family from my trip to Mexico.
I grin when I think about my first experience learning from Muzzy all those years ago in Mrs. Kyle’s 3rd-grade class. I wish she was alive so I could thank her for that ember that grew into a raging fire that still burns today—to show her that what I do now for a living, started in her classroom.
My mother also deserves credit and a thank you. She encouraged my learning early on and bought me my first Spanish book that Christmas. I will never forget her acting wildly excited when I exclaimed my first Spanish sentence: Soy un oso (I am a bear.)
What sparks you? What ember do you still have in you that you want to burn brightly?
Learning Spanish allowed for so many authentic and meaningful experiences and continue to do so. Pics from Panama, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico, Morocco, Portugal, and Greece.
